Montero-Navarro, Sergio, Sánchez-Más, Jesús, Salar-Andreu, Cristina, Molina-Payá, Francisco Javier, Orts-Ruiz, Cristina, Botella-Rico, José M., Tuells, José, Rodríguez-Blanco, Noelia
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Activity of Spanish Physical Therapists and Their Response to Vaccination
Montero-Navarro S, Sánchez-Más J, Salar-Andreu C, Molina-Payá FJ, Orts-Ruiz C, Botella-Rico JM, Tuells J and Rodríguez-Blanco N (2022) Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Activity of Spanish Physical Therapists and Their Response to Vaccination. Front. Public Health 10:877232. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.877232
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/123559
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.877232
ISSN: 2296-2565
Abstract: 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physical therapists have had to adopt a set of specific protection measures, which have had an impact on their clinical activity and economy. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of Spanish physical therapists, as well as their attitudes and predisposition to vaccination. An online questionnaire was divided into five sections: (1) demographic and professional data; (2) labor impact; (3) precautions and infection-control measures; (4) economic impact; and (5) vaccine acceptance and adverse effects. Of the 666 participants, 62.1% showed a reduction in their working hours motivated by: fear of infection (p = 0.007), financial issues (p = 0.002) and being in quarantine or isolation (p < 0.001). Of these, 36.4% were forced to close the clinic, 62.7% requested help from the government, but only 12.04% mentioned that it was adequate. The main prevention measures adopted were the use of gels and masks and, in the private sector, disinfection with ozone or ultraviolet light (p < 0.05). The acceptance of the vaccine was high, 87.5%, being lower among the group over 40 years of age, self-employed, widowed or separated. More adverse effects were mentioned after receiving the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, compared to Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. In conclusion, this study assessed for the first time that the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain had a negative impact on work and finances of physical therapists. The vaccine was widely accepted, in part by the economic impact that an infection in the work setting could signify.
Keywords:Vaccines, Physical therapists, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Acceptance, Impact
Frontiers Media
info:eu-repo/semantics/article